Thousands protest after N.Y. gay killing

NEW YORK – Thousands of New Yorkers — including mayoral candidate Christine Quinn — marched Monday to protest the shooting death of a gay man in the neighborhood that was the cradle of the modern U.S. gay rights movement.

Carson, 32, was killed with a bullet to the head Friday night in Greenwich Village, allegedly by a 33-year-old man who shouted homophobic slurs at him and also threatened to kill the friend walking with him.

“You want to die tonight?” was among the cries from suspect Elliot Morales, witnesses said.

The murder has sparked a strong response from New York’s gay community, not least because it happened in a neighborhood known for its tolerance and where the so-called Stonewall riots in 1969 sparked the modern gay rights movement.